Starting again

It’s been two and a half months now since our dog Addie died, and though it’s rare a day goes by that we don’t think of her and miss her terribly, we’ve started to feel there just wasn’t enough dog hair all over everything.

So, about a week and a half ago we contacted the vet that was so helpful when Addie was sick (she made house-calls everyday to help with giving medication and to check on her condition). When she was here helping us with Addie she off-handedly mentioned she also had a golden and it was about to give birth to a litter. Calling her up we were thrilled to discover that she still had one puppy left and it was ours if we wanted her. Yup, another girl.

I wanted another girl dog for all the reasons we got a girl dog last time – namely, better temperament (read: less barking) and smaller size, two things that are key when you live in an apartment. Maggie would have preferred a boy dog, but you can’t argue with fate – particularly when it rules in my favour.

After visiting the vet’s house, in a rather ancient looking part of town, we agreed we’d take the yet to be named stinky bundle of fur. The fact that she lives in a small pen with a couple of her brothers and sisters and that puppies can’t have soap and water bathes until they’ve had all their shots combines for a rather smelly puppy.

The vet said that we’d have to wait a couple days to take her home as she had just had a shot and they didn’t want to risk the shock that changing the environment can have on a puppy. As a plus though, she said her boyfriend would deliver the dog to us. I get delivery pizza, delivery groceries (incl. delivery beer); delivery doggie – why the hell not?

A couple days passed and we hurriedly called the vet. She said that our pup had developed a slight cough. It was likely nothing, but knowing intimately what we went through with Addie, she knew we weren’t looking to pickup where we left off and get a sick dog. So we waited, and waited and waited. What was just over a week felt like forever, and we had all but given up hope that we’d be getting the new dog.

Maggie holding Button

Then the vet called last night! Were we home? Could she bring the puppy by? Yes! Yes!

And so I’m happy to say we are the proud caretakers of a healthy and beautiful (but still stinky) new golden retriever puppy. We had been stuck on a name, as we wanted to avoid anything too similar to “Addie” and the golden cliches (honey, goldie, etc.). After thinking about it a little while we settled on “Button”, as in “as cute as a ……”

We’ve scrubbed clean Addie’s old bed and a few of her toys we didn’t give away for Button to use. It’s a bit strange seeing another dog in her bed, and impossible not to think about her when we do. But her things, much like our emotions about what happened, have sat since her death in a sort of stasis. Now they can be brought out, dusted off and used/remembered in a positive way.

So now we start again. The hours and hours of training. The cleanups. The endless sweeping. It’s hard starting again, especially after spending so much time doing so and having it end very badly. But at the same time I am thrilled to see what this extremely inquisitive little pup turns into. I’m curious to learn how our life with Button compares and contrasts with the relatively short time we had with Addie.

But right now, I’m mostly curious how I can cuddle my new pup without a nose plug.

10 Responses

Congratulations. I admit I’m quite jealous…wish we could get one ourselves but our neighbors have already warned us that they would force us to move if we did (and they unfortunately have the power to do that).

Enjoy the training. Not sure if it’s just me, but it won’t let me see the video – says I have to be your YouTube friend or something.